Plan announced for Saphan Taksin BTS expansion

11 สิงหาคม 2560

The BMA is set to pay an estimated 1 billion baht for the expansion of the Saphan Taksin skytrain station, says Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith.

Please join us on our Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/bangkokpostlearning

B1bn for Saphan Taksin boost

Om Jotikasthira

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is set to pay an estimated 1 billion baht for the expansion of the Saphan Taksin skytrain station, says Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith.

The station is expected to be completed by December 2019.

Mr Arkhom said the 27-month expansion plan for the station will be divided into two steps, with the project's design and planning phase first taking five months, starting next month.

The actual construction process is due to start next February.

The expansion plan involves constructing 1.8 metre-wide road expansions on each side of the Taksin Bridge, also known as Sathorn Bridge.

The road expansions will stretch for 230 metres on each side, along the area currently bottlenecked by the Saphan Taksin BTS station.

The station itself will be expanded from a single-track station to a double-track one, prompting the 1.8-metre expansions on both sides of Taksin Bridge, said Mr Arkhom.

He said the planning process will involve discussions on how the expansion of the sky train station can avoid worsening traffic, especially in the bridge's bottlenecked area.

The current bottleneck, located where the Saphan Taksin sky train station is, is widely known to get extremely congested, more so as traffic worsens during rush hour.

Aside from taking cars across the Chao Phraya River, Taksin Bridge is also a popular stop for commuters to transfer to the Chao Phraya Express Boat service at Sathon Pier.

BMA deputy permanent secretary Wanchai Thanomsak said the estimated one-billion baht cost of the expansion plan will also involve reorganising the areas surrounding the Saphan Taksin skytrain station.

He said the area is currently home to an disorganised station for motorcycle taxis and songthaew as well as several tangled electricity lines.

Mr Wanchai said reorganising this area will be necessary due to tourist traffic.